‘Coronation Street’ stars Daniel Brocklebank and Rob Mallard are dating.
The actors – who plays vicar Billy Mayhew and Ken Barlow’s son Daniel Osbourne respectively in the ITV soap – are reportedly enjoying a romance off-screen after growing increasingly close since Rob joined the show.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Daniel was instantly attracted to Rob when he joined the cast. They got on really well and quickly developed feelings for each other. The cast love having them together at social occasions and there is definitely real chemistry there. They both know that people will be interested in what is going on, but they don’t mind."
The pair attended the LGBT awards in London on Friday and are said to have been enjoying double dates with their co-star Catherine Tyldesley and her husband Tom Pitford.
Meanwhile, Rob previously insisted he has never hid his sexuality but didn’t want fans of the show to not be able to picture him with a woman on the show if they knew he was gay in real life.
He said: "I never planned to keep it quiet that I was gay. The only concern I had at first was if I’m with a female character, will an audience who knows I’m gay in real life believe it? But that was just my own fears because I do believe they will."
And Daniel admitted he struggled to accept his sexuality at first.
He said: "Back then there was no internet, very few gay people on TV or in the media, and we weren’t taught about homosexuality in school due to Section 28 – so for a while I thought I might be the only person out there who felt like that. I hated myself for it and hoped it was a phase.
"[When I came out] it was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. To feel free to say the words ‘I’m gay’ out loud was one of the hardest yet most natural things in the world. Now I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love who I am."
Daniel Brocklebank and Rob Mallard dating
